Since the first rickety biplanes soared over the trenches of World War I, aviation has played an important role in every conflict. The men and women who fly know the risks but also are drawn to the sense of soaring adventure airplanes have always offered. Here are two dozen stories of pilots and crew members who, in the words of the poet, "slipped the surly bonds of Earth and danced the skies."
Norman C. Adams
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam
Video Interview |
Stephen C. Baxter
AIR FORCE
Afghanistan/Iraq
Video Interview |
James Lee Berry
NAVY
Vietnam
Video Interview |
Cole Black
NAVY
Vietnam
Audio Interview |
Catherine V. Bridge
WASP
World War II
Video Interview, Photos & Memoir |
Phyllis M.A. Capelle
MARINE CORPS
World War II
Video Interview |
Daniel L. DiBono, Jr.
NAVY
Persian Gulf War
Video Interview
|
Dennis Craig Grabeel
NAVY
Persian Gulf War
Video Interview, Photo
|
Robert Joseph Grace
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Audio Interview |
Thomas C. Griffin
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Video Interview, Multimedia Recordings |
Edwin W. Hays
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Video Interview, Photos, Memoir, Correspondence |
Charles C. Huppert
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Audio Interview |
Marion A. Marshall
AIR FORCE
Vietnam
Video Interview, Photos, Official Documents |
Roland Liles Massey
MARINE CORPS
Cold War Era
Audio Interview |
Marvin F. Pixton, III
MARINE CORPS
Vietnam
Video Interview |
W. Harold Plunkett
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Video Interview, Photos, Official Documents |
Laura J.S. Richardson
ARMY
Afghanistan/Iraq
Video Interview |
Harold W. Riley
ARMY AIR CORPS
World War I
Memoir, Photos |
Joseph W. Shuster
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Memoir |
Norman Dwight Smith
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Video Interview, Memoir, Transcript |
Dean M. Sommers
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Memoir |
Kenneth W. Thomas
ARMY AIR FORCE
World War II
Video Interview, Multimedia Recording |
Doyen P. Wardwell
ARMY AIR CORPS
Word War I
Memoir, Photos |
Bruce S. Wong
AIR FORCE
Cold War Era
Afghanistan/Iraq
Video Interview |